General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[Flueky88]

Shae oh the tray thing sounds promising!! Still expensive but not bad for the amount of guests and food.

Pretty so sweet! Love the 4D photos. My girls were pretty non cooperative in 3rd tri for the 4D photos. I can definitely see a resemblance to her brothers in the photos.

Sorry it was a bit stressful going to the appt. Also, glad you get to go again and have guests.

Winter, well I'm glad that your DH gets to go with you next week. Hoping it all goes well.

Thank you all for solidarity on my work issue and opinion on Turning Red.

AFM not much going on. Pretty weather and glad to be free in the evenings. Have been losing weight and finally in 170s again

There was a little work drama, nothing I did. I got is sorted though.

Oh I finally pulled the baby books out and worked on them a bit. So glad Es didn't have month by month updates for the 1st year LOL. I has been more than 6 months ths since I updated

 

[DobbyForever]

Flueky I’m sorry that you had such a tough week at work. And especially that crappy situation with the email. I’m glad it was sorted in the end, but I know the feeling you’re talking about. Big hugs. Great suggestion with the crock pots. That’s so exciting about the shower! Will you be able to attend in person? Congrats on the weight loss progress and working on those baby books!

Pretty so sorry about the scan place changing the policy, but I’m so glad that you’ll be able to go again and take the fam with you. I so agree that she looks so much like your boys! Especially her second picture and Matthew, but I do agree I see both of them in her face. And your boys look so much like their 4D! I don’t feel like A ended up looking much like his 4D hahah. I’ve heard of that fake cake tier thing. Definitely worth looking into not just for cost but omg who really wants to eat/store that much cake?!

Winter I hope that your appointment goes well! I’m glad that your hubs can make it to this one.

Shae I think that’s totally fair. Like you said to feed over a 100 people, that’s quite a bargain! That’s a bummer they don’t do a full service catering, but meh people can serve themselves. They got hands! lol.

I still haven’t watched Turning Red. I went to put it on and then stuff hit the fan lol. As they say in “Shrek: The Musical” that’s the story of my life

Thank you all for the well wishes. Today was the first day I cried because I missed her and it really hit me that she's gone. We ended up having a Thai service for her on Sunday. It started out rough, and I almost had to leave with A but my mom’s friends and my brothers took turn watching him. And the head monk was very understanding. It was nice to send her off properly and that A was able to be there for small parts of the service. Plus, he got to meet the head monk, who is very special to me. He calls himself My Dad. He let A go and sit with him and blessed him. I took yesterday off to go with my mom to donate food at the temple. A had a rough go last night. He wouldn’t stop crying and eventually ended up just sleeping in my bed. I do think she’s visited him because of some of the things he does/says. My brother, the one who lives with my mom and was taking care of my grandma, is back to being an a**. We suspect because match day just passed, and my other brother was home and has straight As as he nears the end of his first year of med school. But he got so mean I ended up blocking his number and my mom has been sleeping at my stepdad’s house. I’m also about to get into it with my selfish a* cousin and auntie. They didn’t come up for the service because they said “it’s inconvenient” and we already sent the body for cremation anyway. It was inconvenient because my cousin had an appointment to get her marriage license on Monday and her daughter’s ears pierced on Sunday (day of the service) for her wedding. Which is stupid enough but toss in that the wedding isn’t for 5 more weeks... it started as not being able to afford it but my mom offered to pay. And then she posts some sob story on FB about how she’s so heartbroken she couldn’t go even though she lives in the same state. Like nah girl. Can’t and chose not to are different. Then they started some bull about how the 100th Day service is more important anyway and more convenient for them and blowing up our phones the morning of the service to make plans for that. And now they’re like we want some of her ashes. My mom and I think it’s disrespectful to split her ashes up, and I distinctly remember her saying that she wanted her body/ashes to go to Thailand to be buried at her family’s cemetery. So I’m hoping my mom doesn’t cave. She jokingly said she may just hand them off to me because honey badger does not give a f*. Come at me. We’re thinking maybe take her ashes to Thailand for the 100th day. I want to take A, but it makes me nervous. He’s going to tantrum on the plane for sure. And then to have him in Thailand where he doesn’t speak the language. Granted, I’d have a ton of relatives watching out for him. But still makes me nervous. Also kind of a sad parallel. He’s 4, and that’s when I first went to Thailand. It was right after my dad died. Anyway that’s my long update lol

 

[shaescott]

Dobs I’m glad that the monk was so kind to A and that you got to have the kind of funeral she wanted. Sorry about your cousin, how awful of them. And sorry about your brother what is significant to him about match day, did he go to med school and not match?

AFM, SO is in full throttle planning mode for the proposal. He had me sit in the living room with music playing in my headphones so he could “make some calls” honestly it’s kinda nice knowing what he’s doing because if I didn’t I worry I would get paranoid, though it’s much more likely I would just immediately know what was going on. He came out and told me how he was super nervous about making everything perfect. At the same time, he keeps telling me how excited he is to be engaged and get married. I don’t know any of the details of course, or when it will be. I just know he’s working around my work schedule so it’ll be on a day I have off. He said he told his boss he might need to take time off on short notice to make stuff work and she was like “absolutely” because it’s a family business. Anyway, I’m super excited. I’m thinking that I should go get my nails done and keep them done so they’ll be nice for when I get the ring lol. I never get my nails done.

 

[DobbyForever]

Aww that’s so sweet. I’m so excited to hear the story. And yes definitely sounds like time to get your nails done or at least keep them cut and clean.

My older brother went to Med school and graduated like before I started working for my current district. Edit: Yup 3/18/2016 was his long white coat ceremony. They really shouldn’t have let him graduate. But yeah he doesn’t get his s* together enough to even apply. He got hung up on letters of rec. He had people willing to write them but they asked him to write about himself and what he’s most proud of. He won’t do it. I offered. My mom offered. My mom has paid thousands for tests he no shows to or applications he never finishes. He won’t even get a damn job. He lives rent free for like years now and all my enabling relatives send him money. Anyway long story short he called me a selfish c* and attacked A’s autism/me as a mother. So I blocked him because nobody has time for that bulls*

 

[WinterBub]

Good for you working on your baby books, Flueky. Dare I admit mine is still in the original shrink wrap?! (Turns out a baby is a lot of work and I couldn't spend evenings doing it like I'd imagined ). Now I'm so far behind that I'm not sure I'll ever do it. I just wrote milestones in my calendar and kept all my calendars. I hope this week is going better at work.

So exciting, Shae! You're entering a really beautiful phase of life. Just enjoy all of this time together i'm excited to hear the engagement story. And I like that he's kind of warned you. Good to be mentally prepared! It's also lovely that he wants it all to be so perfect

Sorry for the family drama, Dobby. Not sure what it is/why it happens, but both OH and I have had so much family drama unfold after somebody passes away. I guess emotions run high, and if there's anything to inherit, everyone gets scrappy I am really glad that you at least had a bit of closure, and the Monk was so sweet to A. And im sorry that you lost your Dad so young. I had heard you mention he had passed, but I didn't realize that you were that little

AFM- we've been really busy. Restarted speech therapy with a new therapist, and it is so much better. He came out the other day and was saying "up and down" clear as a bell I also booked him into a gymnastics class 2x per week. So, it feels like all of a sudden we're busy running around. I also started impromptu potty training today. He's actually doing really well! Stayed dry all day, although he wants to go every 10 minutes just for fun. No #2 action yet, but he will have to go eventually! Not sure why I started though, as we are going to the fertility specialist tomorrow. potty in the car it is, I guess!

 

[Flueky88]

Dobby I am so sorry that you've had family drama going on right now. FWIW, you are not selfish. I'm sure you know that, but I wanted you to know that.

That's a tough call about flying overseas. You know yourself and A best. If you do decide to go and take him then I hope it goes smoothly.

Shae oh how exciting. Yes I would get a manicure I am looking forward to the proposal story when it does happen.

Winter, I'm just glad Es book doesn't have monthly updates for the 1st 12 months..... so hard to keep up. I need to print out photos and place them in their books too.


Glad the new ST is working out better for him and way to go on potty training. I hope things still go well tomorrow for both him and you and your DH at the appt.

Not too much going on here.

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Dobby - So sorry for all that crazy family drama. That's all totally uncalled for and ridiculous.
Is A sleeping better now?
How long do you have to decide if you'll take A to Thailand or not?
And, sorry if you've mentioned this before, but how Thai are you?

Flueky - I have a baby born for Alex that I dont think I've written a single thing in. lol. Kudos to you. I never had one as a baby and I turned out fine, so I guess my kids won't either. haha

shae - Ooo, exciting. Do you have an inkling of what he's planning? Or even just the date he'll pick?

Winter - Yay for the new ST. That's great that he had so much progress in one session. And the gymnastics sounds fun. Matthew just started soccer this month (every Sunday) and he seems to enjoy it. Everyone in his class is 18m to 2.5yo, so it's sometimes like herding cats, but it's still cute. We'd also like to get the boys into swimming and hopefully karate. SO has said baby girl is 1000% taking karate/self defense and I agree.
How did your appt go?

AFM, we dealt with our first 24 hour bug on Thursday. Luckily, it was more of a 13 hour bug and, after 4.5 years as parents, I think that's a pretty decent track record. Matthew threw up like 3 times between 3 and 4:30am, got some sleep, brought up a bit of bile when he woke up at 8. I went to work, so SO and my mom watched him. He threw up again at 10:30 and then woke up from a nap at 3:30pm, throwing up. He was in pretty good spirits between episodes though. Shout out to the moms that deal with this a lot. I dread the day that all 3 of them are sick. We've been super lucky with their immune systems so far and I'm grateful af.
So, I got some news from my MW on Monday. Apparently, that have my EDD as the 19th, not the 17th. That say they go by the first scan and that gave me an EDD of May 19th. I vaguely remember discussing the report with someone as my Dr's office and not really getting a straight answer on EDD, so I just went by when my LMP was. It's close
enough that I'm not gonna change my ticker, but low key annoying to be thrown this curve ball. That being said, my MW said it's a little better to have a later EDD cuz that gives you more wiggle room and less chance of medical interventions if she's overdue. Babies come when they want anyway, so we'll see.
Also grabbed some girl clothes from the massive "help yourself" wall at the clinic. I donated a bunch of clothes to them as well.

 

[DobbyForever]

Will read

drowning my feelings in half a bottle of vodka OA bailed on me tonight and I’ve been trying to not be needy all week because I knew id see him tonight but NOPE so there’s $150 in waxing and another $100 in cute clothes and not getting the emotional support I’d been looking forward to all week. And then I hate myself for being this upset over a cancelled date

 

[WinterBub]

Soccer is a great idea! I should look into that too I imagine it is super cute. There's a heavy herding cat energy to the gymnastics, too I guess that's just any toddler class! Love your clothes haul, and that sounds like an awesome system. Hope
everyone is feeling better. Vomiting bugs are the absolute worst That one LO had over NY was a complete nightmare.

I'm sorry, Dobby. I get the disappointment 100%. When you've been hanging out for that one thing to look forward to, and then it goes, it sucks. Why did he cancel? It is fine to be disappointed- don't kick yourself over that! I would be too. Just have to remind yourself in those moments that the short term buzz isn't the best coping option i hope that you're feeling better today.

AFM- potty training is going mostly well. He peed his pants once, no idea why. But that's all since we started on Thursday morning. I'm just not sure that he gets the concept of holding it and waiting for that feeling that means you need to go. He enjoys the whole thing, including washing hands. So, it comes across as him thinking that it is just something to do when you're bored. So, mostly good, and fingers crossed the next few days go well and he's successful

The RE appt went well. He advised IVF (which was expected). He seemed to think that im pretty likely to be successful- have no problem falling and staying pregnant, my issue is clearly egg quality. So, just have to hope we get at least a couple of healthy embryos. I'm a bit worried about OHSS, as PCOS puts you at higher risk of it. The tentative plan is to start in July/Aug/Sep. Our insurance would cover a good chunk of it, which was great to hear. Although, of course, OH is seemingly a contender for a new job at a different company that would be unlikely to cover any of it. Sigh. I've been trying to find out about COBRA, but it's all so dense, so I don't really understand. Do any of you (US ladies) know anything/have any experience of using it?

 

[DobbyForever]

Winter so glad to hear things went well with the new SLP! Makes such a a difference when they vibe and so rewarding to see immediate gains. Hope it continues to go well! Gym class sounds fun! Kudos on the potty training. One accident over a handful of days is awesome! Glad he’s really taken to it. I have not info on cobra, just gotten the letter a few times when I’ve been pink slipped. Sorry that the potential new insurance wouldn’t cover it. Is it just because you’d be new to the policy or just in general the policy doesn’t cover it? Would you be able to do egg selection if you think the issue is the egg quality? I think my mom and stepdad paid extra to only use the best quality eggs. They always joke about that’s why my brothers turned out so great.

Pretty A slept in my bed half the night one night and one other full night. He only talks about her once a day now, but he still refer’s to my mom’s place as “Tuat’s house”. Well, according to 23 and Me I’m 43% Thai and Ancestry I’m 51% Thai. My mom was born in Thailand and moved here when she was a teen. We’re thinking of going in June when school is out, especially now that they’ve seriously eased up on their covid/quarantine restrictions for travelers. But it’s a lot of talk and no tickets booked. That’s so fun about the soccer but also LOL I think for that exact reason it takes a special soul to teach any toddler sports class LOL So sorry about the stomach bug That’s really sweet that they have that help yourself set up. Very cool idea.

Re the date. I can’t even be mad. I just really needed him, and it was getting me through the week. We even confirmed Wednesday night…. But then his sister called Friday night because she’s having inner ear issues. She fell down a flight of stairs at the subway station and her doctor booked her for emergency ear surgery on Monday. Their family is all on this coast, and she was (rightfully) freaking out and asked him to fly over there. So I can’t be mad, but I really was struggling and needed his support, too. So that sucks. I did cave and tell him that I was really upset and literally cried for a day straight as soon as he told me he might bail. I didn't end up sleeping, I had three solid anxiety attacks. I didn't tell him that part. Just that I hadn't been honest with him about how much I actually needed him because I didn't want to be a burden/I was expecting to see him so why bring it up. And that I wasn't bringing it up to make him feel bad or feel guilty because family should come first and his sister shouldn't be alone with inner ear issues, but that once things are settled and his sister has recovered I'm going to need him to step up his game. He said he understood and he knows I've been through a lot these past few weeks. Which like wasn't really an apology for not being more supportive this past week. Which I was kind of hoping for. But also I feel like if I didn't tell him I needed support then am I allowed to be mad? Because any time I tell him I have a specific need, he does come through immediately. I just hate having to constantly lay things out. You know?

 

[Flueky88]

Dobby sorry about the disappointment. It sucks when you are looking forward to something and it falls through

Winter, COBRA is same insurance you had but you pay the full premium. Typically your employer pays a part of your insurance premium and you pay the rest but with COBRA you pay it all. Most plans are $1000+/month. I'm not sure if deductibles reset once it goes to COBRA or not. My stepdad is using COBRA until he qualifies for Medicare. I had the potential to use it right before dd2 was born. DH got laid off but then transferred to a different dept in one day's time.

Yay for potty training success!

Glad the appt went well and the Dr was positive.


Pretty yeah the book was something I wanted a baby book when I was little so I wanted to do books for them. Nothing wrong with not doing them though.

That stinks about date being pushed back but agree at least they are less likely to intervene to coax baby out.

 

[WinterBub]

I totally get it, Dobby. It's kind of like asking for a piece of jewelry and having him buy it for you vs him thinking of you, and buying it of his own accord (if you get what I mean!) Basically, it is wonderful that he meets your needs when you ask, but I get that it would be nice if he did that intuitively it is still early on, though. So hopefully if a relationship blooms, all that will and would happen. When will he be back?

Hmmm... So maybe Cobra isn't as great of a deal as I'd thought. I thought we'd pay the usual monthly cost we have been paying and keep the same coverage. This is all speculation at this point, but good to think it over with a level head. And yes, Dobby we would do genetic testing on the embryos. That would be the appeal of it for us, because we know that there is an issue, and this is the only potential remedy. He basically said nothing at all I could do would fix or improve it in any substantial way (medication etc). I guess if we kept trying eventually maybe we would be lucky, but not something I'm willing to roll the dice on at this point.

Another good day potty training! I feel if we can get through this week (including some outings/activities and things, too), then he will have it all worked out.

 

[gigglebox]

Good morning ladies! Lots to catch up on.

Pretty lovely u/s pics! Not bad considering she wasn’t being too cooperative. Honestly when I saw her face, my first thought was she looks like YOU! I support self defense classes for her in time lol. And yay for a follow up u/s with the family, that will be fun for the kids. Probably old hat for SO lol. I always felt my husband was very unimpressed with ultrasounds.

Dobs so sorry to read of your grandmother’s passing, but it sounds like she went out mostly how she was hoping to. I hope we are all as lucky. Sorry your date was cancelled How many dates have you actually been on at this point? And while you wait for him do you have a friend to emotionally lean on for a bit? Ugh too bad about family drama! Has it mainly been since your grandmother that your bro’s been acting like a jerk? Is he maybe just lashing out as a way to process emotions?

winter I am a little jealous about your potty training success, lol. Good for you!! We were doing well but have regressed to basically not being potty trained. He started weaponizing his ability to pee. In other words, when he didn’t get his was, he’d intentionally pee on my floor or rug. He also had taken to pooping in the other boys’ room. It just wasn’t going well anymore. Oddly enough he will pee in the toilet if we’re out in public. But at home, nope. So he’s back in diapers and I don’t know what to do but wait to try again later, and hoping he starts on his own again at home. He does not like to be forced into anything. He just rebels and gets mean. He’s in general a mean toddler…I can’t wait for this phase to pass!

ANYWAY yay for speech therapy success!! That’s incredible to see an improvement after one session. And peewee sports!! So cute! My oldest was never into sports but I think I need to do something with ds2. He is super social, I think he’d love it.

I’m glad the fertility appointment went well! How are you feeling about the associated “risk” of multiples? I wish I could offer any advice on COBRA and insurance but that’s not my wheelhouse. I had it once between jobs and it was crazy expensive, that’s all I remember. If there is no gap between his employment, maybe he can smoothly transition from one plan onto the new one? I hope y’all figure it out without too much trouble and hopefully the new insurance still covers some of the ivf stuff.

shae yay for imminent proposal! I will say all this planning before the engagement is foreign to me, but I do know this is a long time coming! Love the backyard wedding idea. I would have done that had I known anyone with a big enough yard. But my parents paid for it using my college money they saved (I only went to community college for a couple years). Also being the only daughter, my mom spared no expense. I think all and all it ended up being 20k-ish or so for about 85 guests. But we agreed if we did it again, private intimate wedding, less private reception/party. Also less expensive food I think…I don’t remember being impressed by it but also I barely ate and drank at my wedding because I kept getting pulled aside by people.

afm, I’ve just been crazy busy. We have a ton of chicks now (19 total) plus an order of more (and goslings! Yay!) arriving Friday. So making a brooder and caring for them, plus the kids, plus preparing our garden beds, plus putting up a fence for the ducks…has all been keeping me really busy! I’ve actually cut back on time spent on my YouTube channel which is a bummer but had to be done. It’s just too stressful to keep up with sometimes! And every break I had, like when the kids nap and ds1 is doing a self guided school lesson, I would have to make a video or pack items for shipping, etc, so never just getting a break to relax anymore. I was feeling a bit burnt out.

all this to say I’m feeling about 90% sure I am done at 3 kids. I guess with the winter feeling slow, I had more time and a baby felt like it could work. With everything picking up now that it’s getting warmer, I now feel too busy. Plus I’m feeling a bit like we’re meant to help with our nephews soon, with my SIL being due early October. She has her appointment friday for her first ultrasound. I’m still bummed we don’t get to know the sex until it’s born!! I will likely hoard cut girly clothes though, just in case

oh and lastly about Seeing Red…I wanted to see it and started watching it with our family, to include my 9yo son. It just got really awkward for us and we turned it off. The young kids I didn’t worry about (jokes went over their heads) but I think it was just too weird for my son. Maybe a girl it would be more suitable. Just all the lusting over boys was a bit…too much I personally think. Yeah maybe I’m a prude now, too!

anyway I will watch the rest of it on my own later. It looked cute anyway!

 

[WinterBub]

Good to see you, Giggle Sorry that the YouTube stuff has had to take a backseat. But hey, it's kind of awesome that it's the kind of thing that you can do as and when you are able. Good to be able to prioritize other things when you need to. And I'm sorry/happy about your conclusion re: #4. Sorry that it sounds like it isn't going to happen, but happy that you have your beautiful family and so much other stuff to find fulfilment in. And I do really believe that things like this happen when they're meant to, if that is what is meant to happen. My brother in law was a late in life surprise And he's a lovely person. Just meant to be!

I feel like everyone says they'd do a much smaller wedding if they did it over. We would too! But maybe that's easy to say when you had a big wedding. I think we had like 50ish guests. I don't even remember. It was nice to have the people who came there. But we haven't seen/heard from many of the extended family members since that day!

I can see why you turned off Seeing Red. The lusty bits were mostly just at the start. And I get that it may come across totally different when you have tweens who may not quite get it, but it may raise questions for. Maybe when we get to that age, one of us would prewatch stuff just to even know what will come up. The Lion King was traumatic for a young me. (Why does Disney love dead parents?!) I do also think that parents should guide those sorts of conversations (when and how they're handled) in general.

Had some potty training setbacks. I went to shower and he peed and pooped in his pants. So, that was not great. Then a bit of a pee accident later. Just really hoping to get it all done to a pretty reliable degree this week. He had such a good start! And that was just from him, giggle. Definitely not us! Although the Oh Crap, Potty Training book is fantastic and gave us a lot of guidance about how to go about it.

 

[gigglebox]

Wish I remembered what it was called, but my oldest was into this short potty training movie where a little girl narrated and talked about her younger brother learning to potty train and how she helped him learn. My kiddo watched that thing about every day and I really feel like it helped! Sadly we got rid of it back in our naïve days of thinking we were “one and done”, lol. But maybe something to look into? It may even be on YouTube, or something similar. I’ll let you know if i come up with anything; you do the same please ^_^

omg yes what is with the dead parents in Disney?! And those movies sting quite a bit more after losing my Dad. Omg, I watched Encanto with the kids and half way through the film I even thought to myself, “wow, finally a disney movie without a traumatic end to a parent”…and then the backstory of how the house was made happened and I cried like a scolded child! And then thought, “…and there it is!” LOL

 

[WinterBub]

Oooo videos are a great idea! Not sure why I didn't watch the Daniel Tiger potty episodes with him before we started this I'll let you know if he gets really into anything. (And yes, please do the same!). He does really like the Leslie Patricelli Potty book. It's super simple and he 'gets' the whole thing. All those books are actually really good!

I haven't seen Encanto... Good to get a heads up! OH says they do it to create a motivation for a "hero's journey" arc. Cool... But does it really always have to be the same (really upsetting) thing?!

 

[Flueky88]

Gigs, yeah I can see your perspective on seeing red. There are things that wouldn't go over ds1's head and you aren't ready to have some conversations yet.

You are right about Disney movies typically involve the death of a parent. I still loved Encanto. The songs are so dang catchy.

Yay about the chicks! Hope you enjoy them.

Winter sorry for the potty training hiccup. Hopefully today has been better on that front.


AFM registered dd1 for K yesterday. I applied to the wrong Elementary school. The road I live on is actually split between which Elementary school kids are zoned for. A lady called and said she'd switch it over to the right one for me. Sad part is, we are like 3 minutes from the one we aren't zoned for. Thankfully only 7 minutes to the one we are zoned for but it is a little more traffic so may he longer.

Work has been a little slower. Hasn't been in awhile so I'm just enjoying taking time. My mom is off Friday and going to come over late afternoon so DH and I can have a date. So excited to get a date night in. It's been 3 months

 

[DobbyForever]

Re Cobra oooo Flueky maybe that’s why I tossed my cobra letter. I remember it not being worth it, but I couldn’t remember why. Plus, I was still young enough to be on my parents’ insurance/ just said I can yolo it until my next job

Flueky that’s sweet to do the baby book for that reason. I’m in the same camp as Pretty. Can’t miss what you don’t have haha. My mom did do an album for me when I graduated high school to take to college. Pictures from throughout my life. I did love that, so I’d probably have loved a baby book lol. Omg yay for kinder registration! So nuts. Can you ask the district about applying for a transfer? It’s a pain because you’d have to do it every year, but as long as there is space they should agree to it. Oooooo enjoy your date night! Definitely let us know the plan so I can live through you!

Winter EXACTLY! I pretty much explained it to my friend in a similar way haha. Like sure having a registry is nice and getting what you want is nice, but isn’t it so much more satisfying to get what you want because someone just knows you?! I did leave him an audio yesterday after he updated about his sister, and I was noticeably crying LOL so he did finally go back to asking about me/trying to be inspirational.

I totally get not wanting to roll the dice on it anymore. I’m glad that you’ll be able to get the screening done. When will you know about hubs’ job sitch? Sorry about the accidents but glad for the overall success. I LOVED Oh Crap. Such a helpful read.

Gigs good to hear from you! WOW! That’s a lot of new additions. I wouldn’t mind videos/pictures. She asks after you said you’re hella busy and cut down on your YT videos lol. If you want to adopt a grown adult, just let me know. You sound super busy, but it all sounds like such fun. Your boys are so lucky. That’s a bummer that your SIL is Team Yellow but yay for the first ultrasound! I’m with you. I stopped after 40 minutes and even that was like me really forcing myself to sit there lol. And hahah yeah Encanto got DARK. I love the little series on instagram with the child trauma therapist that breaks down each character.

My brother is always a jerk when he’s feeling s*y about himself. Just his issue. We hugged it out while I was drunk on Saturday cuz he apologized and I was drunk so. Forgive, forget. Toxic pattern of my fam.

Re dude. DUDE. Smfh. TWO. Gigs. TWO DATES. He just flew in from two weeks in London like last Tuesday? We had a date set for Sat night and then he flew out to NY Sunday. We’re supposed to make plans to see each other two times minimum in the next two weeks but at this point I’m like too disappointed to get excited. He also has family coming to visit, and I’m a little miffed. I was hoping that maybe we’d have spent enough time to be official before they showed up since they rarely visit. Anyway whatever I have other fish to fry. Not in the dating world. Just life hahaha. My friends and family and coworkers are AMAZING support, but there’s something about that d* energy that makes comfort from a dude you like more satisfying

AFM my boss hit me with unexpected news that after surplussing three teachers, I am getting bumped back to 2nd grade. All the same arguments for why it happened the first time. I’m just annoyed because A- the two toxic backstabbers are still there and B- it’s a room change AGAIN. I told him that honestly at this point they need to let me maintain two rooms because this whole bouncing back and forth across campus is just ridiculous. He also just got promoted to the DO and I’m up for evaluation next year. He was also like I’m low key worried about you because doing the math, in two years you’re gonna get surplussed. So since I’m moving over the summer anyway so A can go to the better kindergarten, I am going to apply to two districts. I’m not at a must move right now feeling, so these are the only two I’d be willing to leave my job for. They’re close to A’s school (bordering towns), the pay is more than what I make now, and they pay for the majority of our benefits. The only issue is that I’ve worked for both of these districts previously. One I left on bad terms (I think I was in this thread, was the one with the s*y principal who let me go because I missed too many days after the twins) and then the other was weird terms. The nice thing is, I wasn’t technically fired or non-re elected. My contract just ended. So I’m hoping that since it’s been 5 years for one and 10 years for the other, nobody remembers s*. Plus my old principal from my student teaching still works in the district, so hopefully some part of her vaguely remembers loving me. She was PISSED when I left. Resume and letters of intro all updated, apps filled out, updated my references, just waiting on my letters. I can’t submit now because my last LOR was from 2016, and it’s an unspoken rule you need a letter from your current admin. He asked how quickly he needed it, and I didn’t want to be an a* and I was always told give people a month to do it…. but yeah. in my head I was like uh I needed it when you decided to drop this nugget on me. I hate to give up my permanent, but 11 years is the cap of transferable years of service so it's now or never really. Plus I really love the idea of making 5-20k more each year while decreasing my health insurance by $900/month.

 

[shaescott]

Gigs I’m glad to hear I’m not totally crazy to think that Seeing Red might not be appropriate for some age groups. Hopefully the fast pace of spring will distract you from the small part of you desiring another baby.

Winter sorry about the bumpy potty training journey. I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it soon!

Flueks sorry she has to go to the school that’s further away. That’s frustrating for sure. Do they do placement evaluations for kindergarten there? I remember when I was getting registered for kindergarten they had me do some stuff like stacking blocks, not sure of the details considering it was 20 years ago lol. I hope this school is just as good as the other one!

Dobs sorry about the dude skipping your date for family stuff, but I totally understand why he rushed to be with his sister. “Dude” and OA are the same person, right? I get a little lost sometimes lol. What does surplused mean, is that like layoffs? If so, definitely time to move along. Nice of your boss to do the math and warn you.

Pretty I can’t remember if you said anything after posting the cute 4D ultrasound pics, but I’m thinking of you!

AFM no proposal yet. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I’m 95% sure it’ll be in April. Not in the next 2 days because he said it’s safe for me not to do laundry until Thursday lol. He plans to pack for me, he said. SO has told me I’m not allowed to pick up extra hours until after the proposal so I don’t accidentally screw up his plans. In fact, I’m not supposed to make any plans at all lol. Hopefully I won’t plan for my next manicure at a bad time/day. As soon as it starts looking wonky I’m going to get a new one. It looks fine for now, thankfully. However, I’ve been banging up my skin right below the cuticles (called the nail fold I guess per Google), I’ve made myself bleed twice since the manicure on Saturday. I assume them trimming the cuticles and whatever solution they put on them weakens that skin, because it’s not normally quite so easy for me to hurt them (though I do occasionally see them irritated).

Currently trying to be more financially responsible by making iced coffee at home for myself, but we’ll see how that goes. I had to order some stuff for it, it arrived today. I made a big pot of coffee and put it in a pitcher in the fridge. Tomorrow I try it out for the first time. Fingers crossed I can keep it up. I’m also planning to add some protein powder to it since I suck at eating breakfast. Got some cute workout gear, hoping to start working out regularly.

 

[DobbyForever]

Post and run: boss came through with his LOR today. Sent off the app to the district I’m worried I’m blackballed from LOL just used his, 2 lors from admins I worked with when I was there, and 2 from parents from there. FXed

didn’t submit my other yet but emailed someone high ranking in hr to ask if I should wait for two more current letters vs submitting now